


Season of Goodwill

by ODeorainFan2150



Series: The Townhouse [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Secret Moira Pets, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 01:16:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15232164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ODeorainFan2150/pseuds/ODeorainFan2150
Summary: The homeowner’s mismatched eyes now swung to look at Lena. Surprise flashed through them for a moment before being replaced with another emotion. One that didn’t fill her with Christmas spirit.“And this must be Lena”-----------------------Emily takes Lena to visit her Aunty M in Dublin for Christmas. Except Aunty M and Lena already know each other and were not expecting meet in such a situation.





	Season of Goodwill

“Okay, so maybe flying while ill was a bad idea”, Emily murmured   
  
Lena turned to look at Emily, currently buried under multiple layers of coat, hat and scarf. Her head was resting on the window frame of the taxi as it wound its way through the streets of Dublin and Lena could already see her nose was already starting to glow red with the onset of illness.   
  
“I could have told you that love”, Lena responded, rubbing her cheek "I'm sure you'll be better once we've got to where we're going".   
  
“But on the plus side” Emily continued, sniffling slightly, “I do finally get to introduce you to Aunty M. I just hope I don’t miss out on the festivities if I end up stuck in bed”   
  
Ahhh, the mysterious Aunty M. Lena had heard the name mentioned several times but had never gained much more information. She knew Aunty M had taken care of Emily after her parents had passed and that Emily cared a lot for her but apart from that, this Aunt was an enigma. Of course, this also meant that meeting Aunty M was dangerously close to the classic ‘meeting the parents’ situation which had made her slightly more nervous than one should probably feel when simply visiting a relative for Christmas.   
  
\---   
  
The taxi soon pulled up outside of a row of Georgian Townhouses, their outside facades standing sternly over the quiet street. After paying the driver and grabbing their bags, the two of them found themselves standing in front of door number 26. The curved brass of the numbers stood out against the black paint while underneath, a knocker in the shape of a dog’s head.   
  
“Ah, I haven’t been here in years.” Emily reminisced with a thoughtful tone. As she climbed the stairs up to the door, she ran her hand along railings feeling the familiar cracks and divots caused by age. Behind her, Lena was carrying the bags, a small case for Emily on wheels dragged behind her while the old kit bag was slung over her shoulder. She followed her girlfriend up the stairs, unsure of who might be behind the door.   
  
A quick rap on the door knocker brought the sounds of a dog barking from inside, followed up by the hall light suddenly turning on. Before Lena could really begin to respond, the door swung open revealing a tall figure. For a moment, she was obscured in shadow but then brought herself into the light. The red hair matched Emily but the face was longer, with prominent cheekbones and thin eyebrows.   
  
“Oh Emily, it’s grand to see you again. I was so glad you accepted my invitation to come over and enjoy Christmas here!”   
  
The homeowner’s mismatched eyes now swung to look at Lena. Surprise flashed through them for a moment before being replaced with another emotion. One that didn’t fill her with Christmas spirit.   
  
“And this must be Lena”   
  
Moira O’Deodrain smile widened. For Tracer, it reminded her a little too much of a cat who had just cornered a mouse.   
  
\---   
  
Walking into the hall and closing the door, listening to Emily begin to catch up with Moira, Lena’s brain began to work in overtime. Was this a trap? Had Tracer been lured here under false pretences by this agent of Talon? Had Lena’s entire relationship with Emily been a ruse in order to create this situation? Lena could feel herself beginning to panic.   
  
But now she looked around, she realised that this wasn’t the Moira she had seen every time Talon and Overwatch clashed. The house was warm and cosy, feeling more like a home than some accommodation attached to a lab. A log fireplace was crackling away in the lounge, the furniture modern and well kept. Looking through the open-plan kitchen, Lena could see a rabbit hutch sat on the patio, its occupant chewing its way through a pile of greenery. All the walls she could see were covered in art and photos from all over the world, such as an artistic take on Oasis or a black and white photo of Venice. There was even an old Overwatch recruitment poster, the classic with Mercy reaching out to the viewer, slightly dog-eared but in pride of place in its frame. The dog who had barked at the doorbell was revealed to be a Doberman-Pinscher, who had quietened down and was now sniffing around the new arrivals. For a moment, it fixed Lena with a blank stare, entirely lacking malice, before padding forward to look for pets.   
  
While Lena stood taking in all the details of the house, Moira was starting to fuss about Emily. The doctor in Moira had spotted the early signs of a cold and was immediately looking through cupboards for cold relief solutions.   
  
“Honestly Aunty I’m fine! I probably just need some paracetamol and a lie down for a bit”   
  
“Don’t worry,” Moira responded, “it’s still a bit before dinner so there should be time for you to hopefully start feeling a little better. Lena, can you help Emily take your things upstairs? Usual room, up on the first floor, second on the left.”   
  
Emily led the way up the stairs, stopping only to turn on the lights as they explored through the house. Like the rest of the house, their room was beautifully furnished and decorated with plenty of pictures although dominated by a black and white photo of what seemed to be Swiss Alps. Much like downstairs, Lena assumed every item had a story behind it. Once Emily had laid down on the king sized bed, snuggling under the blanket, she fixed Lena with a quizzical look.   
  
“What’s up, love? You’re not as bubbly as you usually are when meeting new people.”   
  
Lena tried to put on a straight face, hiding her true feelings. “Your aunt is a little… intimidating. I was expecting someone a little less… tall”   
  
“Ah don’t worry about her - last I checked she didn’t bite.”   
  
Lena wasn’t so sure.   
  
\---   
  
When she returned downstairs, Moira was working away in the kitchen, chopping veg and adding water to a large stock pot sat on the stove top. The way the knife flashed showed some skill, especially as she sorted the choppings on the go, pushing the scraps into a little basket labelled “For Oscar”.   
  
“Looks like my choice of tomato soup for your first night here was a good one, should help to ward away the worst of the cold Emily is feeling,” Moira said without turning away from the chopping board. Before Lena could respond, she had finished the preparation and dropped the choppings into the stock pot, put the lid on and turned back to face the plucky Brit.   
  
The smile that Moira has been wearing since they arrived had now vanished replaced by a steely gaze. This was a Moira that Lena hadn’t seen in a long time - the gaze that Moira had always worn when discussing important matters even back when they had both been wearing the same Overwatch insignia on their shoulders. Lena could almost feel the room drop a couple of degrees.   
  
“When Emily told me she was dating someone, I purposefully didn’t go off and search through all my databases because I didn’t want to run her life like she was a pawn in this game we find ourselves involved in. Damn, even being told her girlfriend was a pilot didn’t set the alarm bells off. After all, she lives in London. There must be plenty of people named Lena.”   
  
Moira paused to gather her thoughts. Lena was now resting her back against the door frame, still unsure if she should be ready to make a break for it through the front door.   
  
Moira spoke slowly. “Two questions. The most important first, how much does Emily know about your extracurricular activities?”   
  
Lena seemed taken aback. Confused at Moira’s tone, she responded honestly “Nothing at all. She knows I’m ex-Overwatch and that I keep in contact with other former members. We spent last Christmas with Winston. Apart from that, all I tell her about my trips abroad is that it’s contracted security or pilot work.”   
  
Moira gently nodded her head, seeming to take a second to absorb this answer. “Next question, do your friends in Gibraltar know you’re here? Should I be getting some more bowls out for any extra company?”   
  
Lena met Moira’s eyes this time and again answered: “Winston knows I’m in Ireland with Emily but not exactly where I’m going.”   
  
Moira again closed her eyes, slightly steepling her long fingers against her nose. After a minute, she gave out a sigh of relief and looked up at Lena. When she spoke again she seemed slightly more relaxed, a bit of the old smirk had returned to the corners of her mouth.   
  
“Well Tracer, you seem to have found yourself in Moira O’Deodrain’s safehouse and the villain seems to be without her usual box of tricks,” she looked at the Doberman “well, except for her trusty hound Dougal.” Hearing its name, the dog tilted its head, Moira leant down to scratch behind his ears, causing its tail to start wagging at a pace.   
  
Lena wasn’t sold - for all she knew, she had just revealed how alone she was. “How do I know there isn’t a Talon team heading this way? How do I not know that this was all just a trap?”   
  
Moira looked up from the dog and began to scan around the room, eyes drifting between the items decorating the wall. “Because this house has been expunged from any Overwatch, Oasis or Talon database. I like having a place where I’m not being watched all hours of the day and can actually relax.” 

  
She laughed to herself “Ironically, this is my oasis from the rest of the world. Also, only a selected few people know I’m Emily’s aunt. A friend of mine did some record modifications as a favour “   
  
Her eyes met Lena’s and the serious expression had returned. “If I wanted to snatch you away for Talon, I’d do it from your flat in London. We have more agents on the ground there and it would be much easier to spirit you out of the country thanks to the transport links.”   
  
Moira paused again. It seemed like she was carefully choosing her words.   
  
“Whatever you may think of me, I’d like to keep Emily out of this. She doesn’t need to suddenly find out that her only living relative and her girlfriend regularly travel the world fighting each other while working for two illegal organisations. As far as she is concerned, I worked for Overwatch in a non-combat research role until it was closed down and now work at Oasis.”   
  
Standing up to her full height, Moira walked around the island in the centre of the kitchen and stepped towards Lena.   
  
“I’d like to propose a cease-fire while you’re here. We’ll both agree to do nothing to harm the other or attempt to reveal to Emily what we actually do when she isn’t around. That way we can both relax and enjoy this time away from work. And after all, is this not the season of goodwill?”   
  
Smiling slightly, Moira stretched out her hand to shake and waited to Lena to make her decision. After a few seconds, Lena reached out and shook the taller woman’s hand.   
  
“I don’t entirely trust you. But for Emily’s sake, agreed.” For the first time since they had arrived, a smile returned to Lena’s face. “Perhaps I’ll be able to convert you away from your evil-doing ways while I’m here”   
  
This brought an outburst of laughter from Moira and she seemed to relax. “I’d like to hear your arguments. Now come on, I’m sure we have some happier topics to talk about while this soup cooks. I’m sure I have some embarrassing pictures of Emily when she was young around her somewhere that you’d probably find amusing”   
  
As the two enemies left the kitchen to find somewhere more comfortable to sit, the snow began to fall outside, setting the scene for what could be an interesting Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing fan fiction but this idea had dug itself into my brain and need to get out onto the page. I wanted to do a different take on the "Moira is Emily's aunt" idea and play around with the two sides keeping secrets.
> 
> Not sure if this will be a series, it all depends on if inspiration strikes again
> 
> EDIT: Minor edits on 29/09/18 to improve readability
> 
> If you like this work, I love hearing your comments - I'll always try and respond! Alternatively, drop me an email at odeorainfan2150@gmail.com
> 
> Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/deorainfan2150 for news on what I'm working on next.
> 
> If you want to throw me a tip, you can find my Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/odeorainfan2150.


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